how do you improve the breaks on the 1200

[adecood]

So this 1200 is new to me. I have had it for 1 riding season now. Last winter I replace all the pads on the front and rear. And bleed the entire system. I am confident that I do not have any air in the system. But compared to some of my newer bikes the breaks are not as aggressive as I would like them to be. I know that the hand lever only breaks the Left front and the pedal controls 1 front and the rear. So now that were in the dormant period again I would like to peruse improving the breaks on my 1200. So for those out there who really know the workings of our bike. I would like to hear what the best options are to improve the breaks. I could rebuild both master cylinders and both front and rear caliper. Or should i peruse other options like parts from another bike that is more modern that could improve the breaking performance. So I am hoping that there are others out there who have perused this same question and is willing to offer up some suggestions.

Thanks
Dave D

[tirejoe]

Stainless steel braided brake lines made the biggest difference on my old bike .

[delling3]

Not intimately familiar with the 1200 brakes. When you compare the brakes to other bikes - what bikes specifically are you referring to? Remember it is an 30 year old design, and a big heavy bike.

As a rule, the first/best upgrade to brake performance is to go with ss braided lines. They will not expand under pressure the way the OE lines do, and you will get much improved braking.

Early Wings had a MC with a bore that was too large. They benefit by fitting an more modern master cylinder, but don't know if that is an option on the 1200s.

[Gowing]

with a car, we always sand, at least, or turn the rotors, but I never hear mention of any
disc prep on our pad replacement, or I just missed it probably. The new pads would seem
to work much better if they wore in on "non glazed metal". Did you do any disc surface
prep? On my 900f, I just replaced the rear pads, did no sanding to disc, and the brakes
we're fine I think.

[CYBORG]

Steel lines on front are a big improvement. Also more aggressive pads can help, and de-link the fronts,(where most of your stopping power is), and change the front master cyl to a smaller bore. If all that isn't enough , change the front forks to a more modern sport bike type. Brakes and all

[robin1731]

with a car, we always sand, at least, or turn the rotors, but I never hear mention of any
disc prep on our pad replacement, or I just missed it probably. The new pads would seem
to work much better if they wore in on "non glazed metal". Did you do any disc surface
prep? On my 900f, I just replaced the rear pads, did no sanding to disc, and the brakes
we're fine I think.

You don't really "turn" these rotors. You may be able to find a machine shop that will put them on a rotary grinder and refinish them. I just take an angle grinder with a scuff pad and clean mine up. No problems with that.

I also agree with the others. Start with SS lines. EBC sells aftermarket rotors I know for the 1000. Not sure on the 1200.

Also, like someone else said, you can't compare the brakes on your 1200 with a bike even from the 90's.

[jdvorchak]

I have a SS line on the front of my 1200 Std and that made the biggest difference. Also the correct pad material. Sintered (semi metalic) is what works best for initial grab where Kevlar (organic) are made for racing where they have to deal with lots of high temps and they have to be hot to grab. Now will they brake like a CBR? Not without swapping in new forks and brakes from a CBR. Still won't brake like a CBR because it weighs twice as much.

[scootsx2]

An outfit called True Disk does an excellent job grinding and truing rotors if they aren't worn past wear limits. They can also drill the rotors for better performance in wet conditions. Very reasonably priced service. I used them this past fall when I rebuilt my front brakes and was very satisfied with the results.

http://www.truedisk.net/

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[chrisz]

In my 1983 to improve my braking, I've replaced the OEM rubber brakelines with SS braided lines, not much improvement. Replaced the pads with pair of expensive EBC pads, still not much better. Had the rotors drilled to improve at least the initial bite, but nothing noticed. I guess next step would be to use a MC with a smaller bore. As our bikes (including the OP's) are also foot brake pedal (front/rear) linked, I would think that I (we) should replace the MC in the front and the rear with the smaller bore units? Or just separate the front / rear and use the hand brake for the front only, and foot brake on the rear only. (And only upgrade the front MC to small bore type).

[Easter]

The 1983 GL1100 was the first year to use the proportional brakes. My Aspencade was converted to separate systems by using SS lines front and back and using a double banjo bolt on the front MC to eliminate the splitter. (two lines from MC to calipers) no other changes were made and I have been satisfied with the braking. Maybe not sport bike quality but sufficient for my riding style.

On the other hand I have a much modified GL1000 with the entire front end from a 90 vintage CB1000 that has much sportier braking.

[adecood]

It's really nice to see all the feed back from the group. It looks like the S.S. lines and and linking both front breaks together is what the majority is in favor of to improve the breaking performance. I'll give that some thought too.

Thanks for the great feed back.
This is a great site to get honest answers for our vintage bike.

Dave D.

[primalmu]

I swapped out my front lines with SS lines. I also replaced the pads (nothing special). I was really quite pleased with my GL1200's braking. It certainly has better brakes than my 2007 Roadstar 1700!

Are there any write ups on how to remove the linked brake system on the 1200? Now that I'm stripping my bike down and have removed about 120 lbs of extra weight I don't really feel the need for the linked system. My concern of course is finding a correct size MC for the front brakes. (And does the rear MC need replaced, too?)

[robin1731]

Rear doesn't need to be changed. Front will need to be changed to one for dual calipers.

No real write up on delinking. But it is pretty simple once you look it over.

[adecood]

some really good comments. So now after reading all of these responses on looking for S.S. lines and I am also thinking about tying the 2 front calipers together. So does any one know the correct MC that would work best for the linked front calipers?. I was originally going to tie the 2 together with a T fitting using the original MC. Am I wrong in going down that path?

[robin1731]

Any front M/C designed for dual calipers will work. New aftermarket or one from a donor bike.

You can use a T to link the two front calipers. Some guys just two separate lines from caliper all the way to the M/C. You just need a longer banjo bolt which is easy to find. Or I have also seen one line from M/C to one caliper and then a line from that caliper to the other caliper. Again you need a longer banjo bolt. Plenty of ways to do it.